Floor brush



E. F. FLETCHER, FLOOR BRUSH. APPLICATION FILED DEC.29. 1920.

1,438,371. Patented Dec.12,1922. v

: j iqmfl 23 16 Inventor: 4 Z (m rarest nnwann or mnssncnusnrrs, Assrenon To woncnsrnn OF MASSACHUSETTS a scearnn COIJIPANY, or woncns'rns, rmssacnusnr'rs, a couroaiirrcn FLGOR BRUSH.

Application filed December 29, 1920. Serial-No. 433,754.

T 0 (ZZZ whom it may conc rn Beit known that I, TJDVVARD F. FLETCHER, a citizen of the United States, resicing at Shrewsbury, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Floor Brush, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a metallic brush for sweeping floors, particularly rough floors in garages, machine shops and factories that are likely to be covered with grease and metal chips or turnings.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide means whereby the operative SUI: face of the brush can be formed of a series of brush units constructed in accordance with the patent to Gilbert C. Bemis, #1,100,113 patented June 16, 1914, and to provide a convenient and practicable means for detachably holding them in position;v also to provide a convenient construction for holding the handle on the brush back, in proper position to operate the brush or a scraperon the back. l

Further objects and'advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to he had with the accompanying; drawingin which- F 1 is perspective view of a floor brush constructed in accordance with this invention;

2 is a transverse sectional view of the same showing one of the brush elements omitted to illustrate the construction of the holding elements I Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the hush elements;

F lis a sectional view of the same; and

lug. 5 is a sectional view of the metallic shell before the brush is applied.

in the ilbOVGlllQlltlOIlBCl patent has been shown the construction of brush elements or tufts of wire bristles in which a metallic cylindrical shell 10 is provided with a series of straight stiff wire bristles 11 arranged annularly on the inside of the shell. They are held in position by a wooden plug 12driven in and by crimping or creasing the shell cir cumferentially against the bristles to form a peripheral compression 1%. Each 'of these tufts constitutes a brush element complete in itself. I

in the present form I have illustrated this brush tuft as provided with an outwardly extending flange 14L circular in shape and in plane substantially coincident with the end of the wooden plug 12. The tuft there fore is flat on this end and I make use of that for holding it in position in the following way. v v

The brush back consists of two pieces 1.5 and 16 preferably of'wood. The lower one 15 is provided with a series of perforations 17 therethrough and these are counterbored at 18. These are made so that the cylindrical shell 10 will fit frictionally therein and the flange 14 will be received in'the counterbore 18 and exactly fill it. -The brush elements or tufts having all been insertedin the board 15, their opposite circular ends will all lie in the same circular plane and the flanges 14.-

will be flush with the upper surface of the board 15.

These parts having been assembled as stated, the upper half 16 of the brush back, which is plain on the bottom, is applied to the lower half and secured in position thereon as by screws 19. It will be seen therefore that the lower surface of this half ofthe back rests against the end surfaces ofthe flanges. 14 and holds them firmly in position.

Thus by simply screwing these two parts together, the brush elements are firmly an-- .chored in position and no individual. fasten ing devices have to be employed. But thev are individually detachable byremovingz the upper back section. I

The upper section 1.6 of the brush baclr is provided on its front surface with a scraper 2O projecting? forwardly therefrom, the edge thereofbeing sharpened as indicated. When. used for scraping purposes-the brush is'reversed as will be obvious.

I have shown the handle2l as being se cured in acylindrical socket 22 in a cast member 23. This has a fiat flange at an angle to the axis of the socket secured as by screws to a flat projection 24 at the center of the upper half 16 of the brush back. It alsohas a flange at right'an'gles thereto that engages the rear vertical edge of the back.

This casting is so located that the handle extends upwardly at a convenient angle to the brush back when the bottom surface of the brush is horizontal. l urthermore the angle that the formation. of the tufts or brush elements as shown in Fig. 3 constitutes the principal operation of making the brush. These elements can be made and assembled conveniently by machinery and are em,- ployed for other purposes so that they can be made in large numbers and under conditions of quantity production. These hav ing been made, the production of the brush is very, simple. The tufts are inserted through the perforations in the lower member 15 and the flanges pressed to position in the icounterbored openings. No special care has to be taken as to their location as it is almost impossible to get them in inaccurate position. Even if not pressed home when first putin, they will be when thelupper section 16' is applied and forceddown by the screws. This constitutes an e1;- tremely simple andeasy way tor assembling a brushv and one that results in producing brushes of uniform construction. The brush is particularly valuable for use in sweeping rough floors, apt to have grease and particles of metal upon them. It will be seen that the operative surface of the brush is made up of a plurality of circles of bristle ends spaced apart and having enough resiliency to enable them to retain substantially their original position and condition even after rough-usage. Whenever anythingis encountered on the floor so hard that it cannot be" taken up. by these steel bristles the scraper is resorted to. p

' It will be observed that the brush elements are firmly anchored in position and that the flanges lS are in sockets so that they cannot descend below the point at which they are supposed to be located and.

they are prevented from moving even slightly in the opposite direction by the upper brush back 16. Thus the operative ends of the bristles are all located in the same plane if originally made alike. Fur-- thermore no special accuracy has to be observed in the location of the parts, particularly the two halves 15 and 16 for they would perform all their functions equally well even if misplaced a little. Such misplacement will not injure the brush in any way. not eren its appearance because the edge can be smoothed oil by machinery after the two parts 15 and 16 are assembled. lit the brush elements or tufts get worn out they can be replaced either in whole or in part in a very simple way. By placing the scraper 20 in such position that it is iu'a' plane substantially at right angles to the axis of the handle and socket it is suit ably located for operation and is out of the way when the brush is used for brushing purposes. By providing a series of hollow circles of stiff steel bristles spaced, from each other the brush is rendered particularly desirable for the rough usage indicated because each tuft of bristles has two separated surfaces so to speak, which bristles sweep the floor when it is drawn along. There is also sufficient space in "front of these surfaces to hold any ordinary material which may collect from the sweeping operation.

Although I have illustrated and described only a single form of the invention 1 am aware of the fact that modifications can be made thereinby any person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore I do not wish to be limited to all the details'ott' construction herein shown and described, but what I do claim is:

1. As an article of manufacture. a brush comprising a back having a lower member provided with perforations therethrough, counter-sunk at the top,'a brush element in each perforation comprising a cylindrical metallic bristle carrying shell open at both ends fitting; the perforation having an outwardly extending flat circular projection around its top located in the count'erhores in the perforations, and an upper member having a flat surface engaging the upper surfaces of the first named member and the ends of said shells to hold them firmly in rear edge of the plate. and fastened to the plate upon the brush head, a handle projecting into said opening, and socket extending from said member at the opening: formed therein and fitting about the handle.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

Enwiian r. FLETGHER. 

